Platelet crisis hits Kolkata in peak dengue season

KOLKATA: Chhotu Laskar spent the whole of Thursday going from one blood bank to another in search of two units of platelet. He desperately needed it for his six-month-old son who is admitted at the Institute of Child Health (ICH) with dengue and required a transfusion immediately. The infant’s platelet count had dropped to an alarming 20,000. The S K Deb Road resident finally got one unit of platelet after waiting for several hours at the Central Blood Bank (CBB) at Manicktala.

“After standing in a serpentine queue the whole night, I managed to get the platelet around 3am. But they gave me only one pouch while I needed two. I was told the supply has been rationed due to shortage,” Laskar told TOI.

With the number of dengue patients rising, the demand for platelet has gone up. Adding to the crisis is lower number of blood donation camps due to the approaching Durga Puja festival. Blood banks across the city are struggling to meet the demand for platelet units.

“With clubs and local politicians who organize blood donation camps getting busy with Durga Puja, there is an acute crisis in blood supply. Platelet supply has been hit due to the sharp rise in the number of dengue patients,” said D Asish, general secretary, Medical Bank and a blood donation activist.

Moved by the plight of their patients, a group of doctors quietly slipped into the blood bank attached to ICH on Friday to donate blood. Some non-medical staff, too, took a cue from the doctors and joined the queue of donors. “At the end of the day we could collect 40 units, thanks to the response from our colleagues who came forward to make things a little easier for patients,” said Dr Prabhas Prasun Giri, PICU in-charge at ICH.

From about 10 units of platelet per day even a week ago, the requirement at the hospital has doubled now. Majority of dengue patients tend to suffer a platelet drop.

“When this count goes down to 20,000 or below and other parameters of the patient like pulse and urine output are not normal, the need for transfusion arises. I am proud of the gesture by these doctors at this time of crisis,” said Dr Ritabrata Kundu, professor of paediatrics, who is also the secretary of ICH Trust.

Even as private blood banks across the city and sources at CBB Manicktala admitted to the acute platelet shortage, Dr Kumarseh Haldar, director of CBB, said they are able to meet the demand. “Platelet pouches have a shelf life of only three days. Hence, we cannot stock them for long. For example, we had about 100 units donated on Friday. The platelet has to be separated from the whole blood. Therefore, at times people might have to wait for the procedure to get over,” Dr Haldar told TOI.